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Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana of the Philippines – Photo: CNN Philippines
According to CNN Philippines, in a statement with strong words on 3-4, Philippine Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana asked 44 Chinese ships that were still anchored at Ba Dau Rock to leave immediately.
“I’m not stupid! (I’m not stupid). The weather there is good so far, so they have no other reason to stay. These ships should go. Go now!” – said Mr. Lorenzana.
The Philippine minister also stressed that Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Hoang Khe Lien (Huang Xi Lian) “will have a lot to explain.”
According to the latest Philippine data this week, there are still 44 Chinese ships showing up at Ba Dau Rock. This is a V-shaped coral reef that belongs to the Sinh Ton group in the Spratly archipelago under the sovereignty of Vietnam.
At first, the Philippines said that some 220 Chinese ships appeared in Da Ba Dau on 7-3. As of March 22, 183 Chinese ships still appeared here. The Philippines believes that these are ships controlled by the Chinese maritime militia.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said on March 22 that the boats that appeared at Ba Dau Rock were only fishing boats and were taking shelter due to “bad weather conditions” at sea. The Chinese Foreign Ministry also gave a similar explanation.
It is not clear when all the Chinese ships left the Ba Dau rock. The Philippine Foreign Ministry sent protests to China on March 21, calling on Beijing to “immediately withdraw” the ships. Last week, the Philippine ambassador to China, José Santiago L. Sta. Romana, said that Beijing had ensured that Chinese ships were temporarily anchored at Ba Dau Rock.
